Gohmert And Bolling: Obama, Get This ISIS War Party Started Already!

Iraq war cheerleader Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) apparently thinks President Obama should be trigger happy and not think too much when it comes to starting a new war against ISIS. Fox News host Eric Bolling seemed to agree.

Appearing on Hannity last night, Gohmert showed not a care in the world over the possibility that striking ISIS could prompt them to attack the U.S. Nor did substitute host Eric Bolling. Maybe that’s because those two could (and almost surely would) use an attack on the U.S. to ramp up even more antagonism against Obama. If Fox has wrung every bit of sensationalized smears against the Obama administration from Benghazi, just think how they’d go to town if there was an Islamic terrorist attack here at home.

Or maybe Gohmert, Bolling, et al. really are just champing at the bit for a new war.

Gohmert likened Obama to Barney Fife for saying we have to nip ISIS “in the bud.” “Do you know who made that line famous? Barney Fife. We have Barney Fife running our foreign policy now,” Gohmert said, obviously pleased at his Obama smack talk.

Actually, the phrase seems to go back to the 16th century. And while I hate to rain on Gohmert’s humor, it’s hardly his only error in judgment. For example, though he came into Congress after the Iraq invasion, he was an unapologetic supporter. In 2006, he had the following exchange with David Gregory on Hardball:

GREGORY: We played on the program before Vice President Cheney‘s remarks on a radio program yesterday that the invasion of Iraq is a factor in the fact that we haven‘t been hit in five years. Do you agree with that?

GOHMERT: I do. Absolutely. Now, regardless of whether we went in for proper reasons or not… the fact is the insurgents, the terrorists, al Qaeda, realized that in order to win in the Middle East, and even in America, they have got to fight the democracy that‘s about to take place and is already blooming in Iraq.

If that democracy gets a foothold there in the middle of the Middle East, then they are toast. Iran is in trouble, Saudi Arabia, our friends there, they are worried about us—Syria—a democracy right there means curtains for the terrorists.

Gohmert’s analysis could be summed up as “democracy over there so we don’t have to fight the terrorists over here.” Yeah, that worked out real well.

Not that Bolling brought up Gohmert’s past Iraq war hawkishness. Or how just last month, Gohmert suggested Obama should send troops into Mexico. Or any reason to doubt Gohmert’s new-war drumbeat now.

No, Bolling was too busy itching for more death and destruction - and what are we waiting for? - himself. “Wouldn’t it have been better if Obama had “come to the podium… and said, ‘We decided we’re bombing Syria. We’re pushing back ISIS within Syria. We’re not waiting for Bashar al-Assad to give us the OK?’” Bolling asked. He hypothesized that Obama’s advisors are trying to get him to act. “Why do we have to convince our president, our Commander in Chief, to act?” Bolling complained.

Gohmert replied:

Supposedly, it took several months to convince him to let them go after Osama Bin Laden. It took 30 days to convince him to let ‘em go after Foley, which came too late. So this president seems to be very feckless. He seems to twitter and dither. And if you look at what their strategy was with regard to Russia, they were going to step up their Twitter campaign ‘cause the Russians didn’t really understand how effective that could be. Neither do most of us.

This is a pitiful foreign policy and Barney Fife’s in charge.

Bolling added, “Yeah, Barney Fife when we need Andy Griffith.”

As if Andy Griffith would go off half-cocked into a hostile, unstable region and start bombing like some fiend out of Dr. Strangelove.

Showing 9 reactions

Joseph – Believe me, I had no desire to fight in Vietnam. And having visited there recently, my opinion of the place is that it’s too damned hot to fight a war there.

I’ll never forget freshman year though, when they drew the numbers. There were 5 of us freshman on the floor, and we all sat around a radio as they went through the birthdays. One poor guy got number 1 – the rare time when you don’t want to “win.” Don’t know what ever happened to him.

Steve, I’m well aware of getting high numbers and all that, but this is a man who NOW-when he’s safely out of consideration for having his ass put on the front lines—wants to wage (another) war where other people have to risk their lives to keep his sorry ass safe. And considering the fact that he JOINEDTHEARMY out of college (getting some kind of Army scholarship during college), I doubt you and he share a similar experience. Unless, of course, you DID want to fight in Vietnam and whined and moaned because your number never came up.

Joseph West – I’m not defending Gohmert here (why would I?), but I also graduated high school in 1971, and it wasn’t hard at all for me to avoid fighting in Vietnam. I just got a draft number that was way higher than what the military was drawing from at that time.

Other than that, Gohmert is a typical war mongering Rethug.

And I’m quite sure a lot of people before Barney Fyfe used the term “nip it in the bud.”

Richard, why punish Gohmert’s “military aged loved ones” for Gohmert’s stupidity? Why shouldn’t Gohmert himself go down to his nearest recruiting center and sign up to go fight ISIS? The man somehow managed to avoid fighting in Vietnam (despite graduating high school in 1971) and, even though he did serve in the military, it was largely in the JAG (as a “defense attorney”—I have to wonder how many of his clients lost their cases?). Then, when the first Gulf War broke out in 1991, he lucked out by being just a bit too old for service (not that I can find if he was in the Guard Reserve at this time).

Despicable sloth. These are two of the weakest minds on the reich wing. Gohmert is just plan scary. What an insult to EVEN Texas. I cringe when I see this worthless teabaggers bring his head up out of the sewer to bash this President and his administration. One of the dumbest “celebrities” I can conjure up in memory, and a US Congressman??? God help this country!